Chapter 58

Arlan had the privilege of seeing several of the Ms. Herta's guests—a mysterious Intellitron covered in metal, a strange man with a plaster relief on his head... The only one who seemed somewhat normal was the black-haired woman.

But regardless, geniuses are surrounded by geniuses, and fools by fools. The Ms. Herta's client is definitely an oddball, just like her. Arlan knows he has low emotional intelligence and isn't good with words; what if he says the wrong thing...?

So Arlan shook his head, a rare occurrence, expressing some resistance.

"Perhaps... let Ms. Herta do it. I'm probably not up to it. I might say something wrong and offend the guest."

"It's not that easy. Haven't you noticed that all of Ms. Herta's dolls have been in standby mode these past few days? For some reason, the energy of the Stellaron contained in the storage room has been fluctuating frequently lately, causing Ms. Herta to focus all her attention on studying that Stellaron. In addition, she doesn't care much about interpersonal relationships to begin with. To be honest, it's already a huge miracle that she still remembers that she has a guest."

Asta bent down to pick up the staff buried in the manuscript and gently tapped Arlan on the head. "Alright, you're the head of the Security Department. How can you be so timid?"

"Um... sorry."

Arlan lowered his head in dejection, wondering if he had angered the young lady again. He had no choice but to agree to her request.

"Then it's up to you. By the way, Arlan, did you see Peppy today?"

"Peppy? I didn't see it today." Arlan shook his head.

"Is that so... I guess she went off with someone again. After all, Peppy is a bit silly; she's the kind of person who'll follow someone if you pat her head."

Asta, who was exceptionally confident in her pet's personality, nodded and stopped worrying. After all, all the staff on the space station knew Peppy, and no one would hurt it. Peppy would naturally come back when it got tired of playing.

"Oh dear, it's almost time for the meeting, so I'll be going now. Arlan can go wait for Ms. Herta's guests near the platform."

Asta glanced at her watch, hurriedly left the office, and added to Arlan as she left, "Oh, by the way, if you have time, you could go and pick up my package. The five thousand shells I ordered online have arrived."

"Okay... Huh? Wait a minute, what's with the shells? Miss, what are you buying again, wasting money? I need an explanation--!"

Arlan was stunned for a moment. After his brain finally processed the information, his calm demeanor crumbled instantly, and he shouted loudly at Asta had already fled the scene.

Supply Zone, Railway Platform

The air was cold, carrying a slightly unpleasant smell of disinfectant.

The nerve sensation kept sending unfamiliar signals, bringing a feeling completely different from Luofu. As far as the eye could see, everything around was mechanical equipment and cold-colored floors. A wide circular platform connected to the distant laboratory and connecting passage.

Bai Jun walked down the steps of the interstellar spaceship alone, ending his three-day galactic voyage.

He longed to stretch out his body and let out a long, satisfied sigh, but the surroundings were far too quiet.

The vast Railway Platform was empty of any other starships except for Bai Jun. However, despite this, none of the passing staff paid him any attention, most of them looking hurried or serious as they looked down at their documents.

The only thing that could still make some noise was the Jade Omen in his pocket, but ever since Bai Jun sent a group message to notify him that he would not be in Luofu this month, he had been bombarded with all kinds of messages and had to be forced to mute it, to the point that he was now somewhat afraid to open the Jade Omen.

To be honest, Bai Jun actually quite likes this quiet academic atmosphere. Everyone is doing their own thing, so they don't disturb others and can concentrate on their own work...

But that's not the point right now!

"Didn't the old man say that everything had been arranged in advance...?"

Bai Jun looked around several times but couldn't find anyone to pick him up. This feeling of being abandoned by the world made him wonder if he had been deceived by Huai Yan.

Surely such a large space station wouldn't be so poor as to lack the resources to even afford a person to receive guests?

After standing on the platform like a fool for more than ten minutes, Bai Jun sneezed and realized that he could no longer sit idly by. Just as he was about to take the initiative to find the Herta mentioned in the old man's letter, a sound from afar suddenly attracted his attention.

"... What is that?"

Bai Jun blinked in surprise, watching the small figure rushing towards him.

"Hello, esteemed guest. I Arlan, the head of the Security Department at the space station 'Herta.' During your stay on the space station, I will do everything in my power to ensure your safety."

Arlan, panting heavily after running all the way, straightened up and bowed to the guest who had come from afar.

"Protect me? What nonsense are you spouting, you little dwarf? Go away, leave me alone."

Ugh, what a terrible attitude...

Arlan formed a very bad first impression of the guy in front of him. Although the guests of the Ms. Herta each had their own eccentricities, they were at least well-mannered and articulate. But this guy was an exception, and he didn't seem to have anything special about him.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Arlan's expression remained unchanged as he patiently explained, "I apologize, Ms. Herta's guest. I apologize for my personal appearance. If you don't mind, please allow me to take you to Ms. Herta's office."

"Take me to Ms. Herta? What... what have you been saying from the beginning? Are you crazy!?"

Upon hearing the name Herta, the overweight middle-aged man showed a look of horror and subconsciously took a few steps back.

Even the slow-witted Arlan realized something was wrong at this point. He immediately frowned and asked, "Aren't you a guest of Ms. Herta?"

"No way! How could I possibly be Ms. Herta's guest? I'm just here to discuss a collaboration with Wen Mingde!"

Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, Arlan had already vanished from where he stood, appearing in an instant at the clerk in charge of reception on the platform. He shook the clerk's shoulder vigorously and asked anxiously, "Have you seen a stranger who just arrived here?"

"Stranger?"

The clerk thought for a moment and quickly retrieved the relevant information from a corner of his Remembrance:

"Oh, I remember now. I did see a very handsome stranger standing on the platform for more than ten minutes. Then... I remember he seemed to follow Peppy towards the connecting passage. Are you looking for Peppy, Brother Arlan?"

"What, Pei- Peppy--!?"

Arlan was struck dumb, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead. If he remembered correctly... the closed -Seclusion Zone was just ahead of the connecting passage, wasn't it?

The Seclusion Zone was once a key experimental site for cutting-edge scientific research on the space station. Shuttle vehicles, laboratories, and plant rooms provided convenient conditions for high-risk experiments. However, due to energy leakage during Ms. Herta's research on the Stellaron, a small-scale Fragmentum was generated in the compartment. To ensure that the lives of the crew members are not threatened by Fragmentum creatures, it has now been sealed off.

Because the Fragmentum periodically spawns a certain number of Fragmentum creatures, their Security Department conducts regular cleanup missions of Fragmentum monsters every so often. If I remember correctly...

Damn it! We haven't had time to clear out the huge horde of Fragmentum creatures near the Seclusion Zone yet!

Chapter 83 This is what I picked up (6k)

"It's so small..."

Bai Jun looked down and saw a small white dog run to his legs, nuzzle affectionately against his trouser leg, and then stick out its tongue and happily circle around his feet.

In Xianzhou, people generally prefer large, robust pets. Bai Jun, Xianzhou is used to seeing large dogs that weigh tens of kilograms, was naturally quite surprised to see such a tiny pet dog. So he picked it up by the scruff of its neck.

Woof woof!

Even when picked up by someone she was meeting for the first time, Peppy not only acted very lively, but could even be described as unusually excited. She stuck out her tongue, panted, and occasionally barked happily, as if she had seen a bone.

Seeing this, even Bai Jun had to call it Haoxiu Dog, and instead picked it up and held it in his arms, gently stroking its soft fur, and looked around.

But when he looked around, he couldn't find a trace of the dog's owner. This was very strange. Such a delicate and affectionate little dog was obviously a domesticated pet. How could its owner let it out alone?

If this were in Luofu, Bai Jun might have been able to intervene, but now that he's in a foreign land and doesn't even know where he is, it would be foolish for him to meddle in other things. After all, he doesn't know what the dog's situation is, and if something like "Why should I care about something that isn't your dog?" happens, he'll be in Starskiff Haven no matter what.

With that thought in mind, Bai Jun decisively put the tiny pet dog back on the floor and let it run around and play.

Unexpectedly, the dog didn't leave; instead, it circled around Bai Jun's feet even more enthusiastically, eventually biting his trouser leg as if trying to lead him somewhere.

"Wait a minute, could it be that you were sent by the space station to receive me?"

A bold idea suddenly popped into Bai Jun's mind.

Using pet dogs to greet guests may sound unbelievable, but that seems to be the only explanation for the current situation; let's just categorize it as a space station custom...

After confirming several times that there were no staff members nearby, Bai Jun had no choice but to follow Peppy in the direction she was going to see what was going on.

As he continued along the connecting passage, the number of people around him became even sparser than on the platform. Occasionally, he could only see a few staff members in white uniforms, carrying weapons, passing by him with questioning glances.

Several staff members hesitated to speak, but upon seeing Peppy beside Bai Jun, they wondered if this unfamiliar stranger was an expert Miss Asta had brought to deal with the Fragmentum creatures. After all, in such a vast space station, there weren't many people Peppy was willing to follow.

After a moment's hesitation, they chose to keep quiet and cast a deep respectful glance at Bai Jun's receding figure as he headed towards the Seclusion Zone.

The creatures from the Fragmentum have been quite active lately, and they've been having a headache dealing with them. Now that professionals have come along, they're overjoyed.

But they hadn't gone far when they saw Arlan charging towards them, carrying a greatsword crackling with lightning. He was panting heavily, his eyes, which hadn't rested in a long time, were bloodshot and menacing. Upon seeing the two, he immediately asked:

"Hoo hoo... Have you... have you seen a stranger and Peppy?"

The group swallowed hard; they hadn't seen Brother Arlan look so serious and intimidating in a long time. They exchanged glances and tentatively pointed towards the distant, Seclusion Zone.

"Tsk, too late after all... No time to explain, you guys follow me! Prepare for battle!"

Everything seemed to be heading in the worst possible direction. Arlan scoffed, not giving any further thought, and gave a brief instruction to the others before shouldering his greatsword and heading towards the Seclusion Zone.

The remaining Security Department hesitated for a moment, then grabbed their weapons and followed.

"Isn't this area a bit too quiet? Something feels off..."

Bai Jun, who had been following Peppy all the way, gradually stopped, blinked, and felt a chill down his spine.

Leaving the connecting passage, the deeper one went into this section of the cabin, the stranger the atmosphere became. The few staff members nearby completely disappeared, leaving only a deathly silence in the air, with only the occasional heavy breathing sound.

The compartment was littered with scattered instruments and equipment; the high-end floor bore massive claw marks and knife slashes; pale yellow crystals, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, were scattered across the ceiling and walls; and...

A jet-black calyx blooming out of nowhere in a void?

Bai Jun stopped in his tracks. He vaguely recognized this kind of substance; he thought it might be a creation from Fragmentum?

Peppy was walking ahead, suddenly turned around. While Bai Jun was observing his surroundings, she cheerfully moved back to his feet. Her fluffy, adorable head instantly twisted, and she opened a gaping maw—completely disproportionate to her size—towards his unsuspecting ankle...

However, the sharp teeth did not come into contact with soft flesh, but with the cold, hard muzzle of a gun.

"Is this a new scam? It's so exciting right from the start; someone who didn't know better might think it's a parasite."

Bai Jun sighed, looking at Peppy, who had gone from an adorable pet to a rather indescribable figure, confirming that his guess was correct.

No, this can no longer be called a guess; it should be described as a clumsy disguise. Even he found the surrounding environment strange, so how could a pet dog the size of a palm dare to lead the way?

The gilded barrel amassed terrifying energy, leaving no room for resistance. With a single shot, the monster's body was instantly annihilated in the raging flames.

The gunshots, like those from the Heavenly Fire, served as a signal. The space, which had been stagnant from the beginning, seemed to tear open, and dozens of monsters of various shapes fell down, all of which exuded the same aura as the dark black calyx.

The monsters roared and surrounded Bai Jun, who had fallen into the trap, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

The dark calyx blooming in the void seemed to possess a life of its own, constantly creating various monsters from the cracks, including monsters resembling Peppy, whom he had just blasted into dust.

"A fight breaks out as soon as we get off the starship, really... I must have been out of my mind to believe the old man. I should never have come."

Bai Jun sighed softly, complaining as he aimed the Heavenly Fire in his hand directly at the flower bud in the void, his eyes gradually turning cold.

Boom--!

Upon hearing the loud noise coming from the Seclusion Zone, Arlan, who had rushed over, felt a pang of anxiety. Without thinking, he immediately burst into the Seclusion Zone and ran frantically towards the source of the sound.

Along the way, Arlan encountered no Fragmentum creatures blocking his path, which made him feel fortunate, but at the same time, a very bad premonition arose in his heart—it seemed to indicate that all the Fragmentum creatures had gathered on the distant battlefield.

As Arlan got closer to the battlefield, the air temperature rose higher and higher, roughly estimated to be at least ten degrees higher than usual. However, Arlan didn't have time to think about what was going on; his mind was filled with worry for Peppy.

"Peppy! Guests! Are you alright?!"

Arlan rushed over, only to be met with a scorching wave of heat that stung his face and made Arlan unable to open his eyes. After a moment, he forced his eyes open, only to be stunned speechless by what he saw.

Beneath the terrifying flames soaring into the sky, no trace of any Fragmentum creature could be seen on the battlefield. Pipes, iron pillars, walls, and even the ceiling melted into molten iron under the intense heat, which then spread along the grooves in the floor.

The smells of rust, burnt metal, and gunpowder filled Arlan's nostrils. Gazing at the stranger standing at the edge of his vision, his lips moved slightly, but he remained silent for a long time.

"It's so hot! It's so hot! What is this?!"

"Ouch! That's so scary..."

"Cough cough cough..."

The other Security Department arrived one after another, and were stunned by what they saw. They almost instinctively cried out in alarm, but the next second, the gilded gun barrels were pointed at them.

Are you real or fake?

Bai Jun frowned, staring coldly at the group of white-uniformed clerks in front of him. He had just seen many monsters with similar clothing and appearances, and just to be on the safe side, Bai Jun thought it would be better to confirm their identities first.

"Really, really, really!"

But the people standing opposite him were trembling with fear at his terrifying murderous aura. Thinking that Bai Jun was in a bloodthirsty frenzy, the staff members took a few steps back, afraid that they would end up like the wall with the hole in it in the next second.

Where's Peppy!?

Coming to his senses, Arlan noticed that Peppy was not by Bai Jun's side. Ignoring the gun that Bai Jun had already pointed at his head, he threw down his greatsword and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

"Peppy? You mean that little white dog?"

Seeing him like this, Bai Jun felt relieved and put down the Sacred Judgment of Heavenly Fire. The entire hall of the Seclusion Zone was riddled with holes and charred marks under the fire of the Heavenly Fire. Only one corner of the hall remained unscathed, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding devastation. There, a small white figure was hiding.

Even though Bai Jun had noticed it hiding in the corner early on and deliberately avoided the Heavenly Fire from its location, a small part of Peppy's pure white fur was still singed by the fire wave. In addition, its whole body was covered in dust, and it curled up into a dirty ball. It wasn't until it heard Arlan's voice that Peppy barked a few times in a pitiful manner.

"Peppy!!!"

Arlan rushed to the corner without hesitation, knelt down with a thud, and carefully held the trembling Peppy in his arms, tears welling up in his eyes.

"That's great, that's great, Peppy, I'm so glad you're alright, so glad you're alright..."

Arlan is willing to risk his life in battle. He is used to pain and regards injuries as medals. Only when he holds Peppy will the boy let down his guard and show a relieved smile.